Acid bottle for well surveying



Jan. 3, 1933. E. H. ZEITFUCHS ET AL ACID BOTTLE FOR WELL SURVEYING Filed Aug. 4. 1930 Patented Jan. 3, 1933 asaaazz PATENT FFIOE EDWALRD H. ZEITFUCHS AND HENRY N. HIE-BRICK, OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, AS-

SIGNORS TO STANDARD OIL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFOR- KIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE ACID BOTTLE FOR WELL SURVEYING Application filed August 4, 1930. Serial No. 472,931.

This invention relates to acid bottles for well surveying, and an object, in general, is to secure greater accuracy in surveying wells for variation from the vertical.

There is now used, in ascertaining the angle at which portions of a well-hole lie with respect to the vertical, a cylindrical glass container or bottle in which is placed a glass etching liquid, such as hydrofluoric acid. lVhen the bottle is lowered into a portion of a well-hole that lies at an angle with respect to the vertical portion of the hole, and is allower to remain at rest for a certain length of time, the surface of the glass-etching liquid remains approximately horizontal and the said liquid etches the glass, thus making it possible when the bottle is removed from the well .for the angle to be measured between the upper margin of the etching and one side of the bottle.

The difficulty with using this old form of cylindrical bottle is that it does not give accurate results because of the fact that the upper side of the slanting bottle meets the surface of the etching liquid at a different angle than the lower side of said bottle. This results in the surface tension of the etching liquid being exerted with greater effect adjacent to the upper side of the tilted tube than adjacent the lower side of said tube. In consequence of this, a less angle of variation from the vertical is indicated thanactually exists in the well.

To overcome the objection noted above. we have devised a type of acid bottle in which the acid is held in a spherical or bulbous container or portion of a container. Tilting of the stem or straight portion of the bottle simply effects rotation of the spherical or bulbous portion about its axis and the etching liquid meets the opposite sides of the spherical wall at the same angles, and, accordingly, the surface tension acts with equal force at said opposite sides and the surface of the etching liquid remains absolutely horizontal.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal view of an acid bottle for well surveying, constructed in accordance with the provisions of this invention.

Figure 2 is a view, partly in section, of the acid bottle shown in Fig. 1. The bottle is positioned aslant, as it would be in a slanting portion of acrooked wellhole.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line indicated by 3-3, Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmental view of an old cylindrical type of acid bottle.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawing, there is provided a spherical hollow bulb 5 in which is placed a glass-etching liquid 6 of hydrofluoric acid or other liquid agent capable of etching glass, or other suitable transparent material of which the bulb 5 is made.

In order that the angle of the etched portion of the bulb, relative to the axis of the wellhole, may be measured, the bulb 5 is provided with a stem 7 which, in this instance, is also of glass and is cylindrical or tubular. In this instance, the stem and bulb are of integral construction, being blown or molded at the same time.

The upper end of the stem 7 is closed by a suitable stopper 8.

The invention operates as follows The acid bottle will be lowered to any desired level in the well-hole that is to be surveyed, a record being kept of the depth to which the acid bottle is lowered. The acid bottle will be left for a short interval of time in this position in the well so that the etching liquid will etch the inner surface of the bulb 5. If the stem 7 is aslant to the vertical, as indicated in Fig. 2, the surface of the liquid will come to rest in a horizontal plane and, consequently, the upper margin of the etching liquid will be at an angle to the stem and this angle will absolutely correspond to the angle of deviation of the well-hole from the vertical, since the effect of surface tension of the etching liquid on 0pposite sides of the bulb is exactly the same, because the angles of incidence are alike.

After the acid bottle has remained in the well a sufficient length of time to properly etch the bulb, it will be withdrawn from the well and the angle between the upper margin of the etching and the stem will be measured, thus giving the angle that the surveyed portion of the well-hole deviates from the vertical.

When the old type of acid bottle is, em-

5 ployed in surveying a well, and comes to rest in a slanting position, as indicated in Fig. 4,

the upper side of the bottle above the surface of the etching liquid makes an acute angle with the surface of said liquid,-while the lowor side ofvthe bottle above said 1i uid makes an obtuse angle with the surface o the liquid.

This difference in angles appears to have a decided effect in tiltin the surface of the liquid out of the horizonta it appearing that the effect of surface tension at the u per side of the bottle is greater than the e ect of surface tension at the lower side of the bottle. The surface tension is, of course, the same at all .circumferentialpoints where the liquid contacts with the bottle. In the old type of bottle, if the vectorsor lines, representing the force of the surface tension,'be drawn for the upper andlower-sides of thebottle, these vectors each resolves into its vertical and horizontal components, and itwill be seen that the vertical component for the upper side is: greaterdthan the vertical component for the lower s1 e.

When the b lb of this invention, however, is employed, the vertical components of the forces w1ll,of course, be alike. The old cylindrical type of acid bottles'has a diameter of about of an inch and the bulb of our instrument may be made thesame diameter so that the instrument may fit in the same size of go-devil as is employed for the Old type. v

We claim: 1 q 1. An acid bottle for" well surveying comprisin'g a stem,- a herical hollow transparient bulb of etchab e material secured to one end ofv the stem, and a liquid in' the bulb capable of etching said bulb.

'2. A, container provided with a spherical transparent ortion of acid etchable material,

andan acid n said spherical portion capable of'etchingsaid portion.

Signed b EDWARD H. Zm'rrUcns at Richmon Cali ornia, this 29th day of July, 1930. Signed b HENRY N. Hnmuox at San Fran- =cisco, Cali ornia, this 29th day of July, 1930.

' 1 EDWARD H. ZEITFUCHS. r

HENRY N.- HERRICK. 

